PlayJS - A desktop JavaScript playground with real npm packages & AI

PlayJS is a native desktop playground for JavaScript & TypeScript. Install real npm packages, test TC39 proposals, see instant per-line results, and let AI explain your output — all local, fast, and out of the box. Most JS playgrounds either block npm packages or spin up slow cloud containers. PlayJS takes a different approach — it's a native desktop app that runs everything locally

Hey Product Hunters! 👋 I'm Lei, the maker of PlayJS. I built PlayJS out of a simple frustration: every time I wanted to quickly test a JavaScript snippet or try an npm package, I had to either fight a web playground's sandbox limitations or scaffold a whole new project with npm init. Neither felt "instant." So I made PlayJS — a desktop playground where you just open it and run: ✅ Install any npm package with one click — real packages, running locally ✅ See every expression's value inline, instantly ✅ Experiment with TC39 proposals (pipeline operator, decorators, do-expressions...) via simple toggles ✅ Ask the built-in AI chat to explain any output or error (bring your own API key — we support multiple providers, and your key stays on your machine) ✅ Vim mode, Monaco editor, snippets, env vars, themes It's available on macOS (universal), Windows, and Linux. 💬 I'd love your feedback — what's the one thing you wish a JS playground did? And if you hit any bugs, tell me here; I read everything. Thanks for checking us out! 🚀

PlayJS - A desktop JavaScript playground with real npm packages & AI

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